Lunar Knight, Solar Sentry
by Clooover
Summary: [XoverCanonAU]'Name’s Aaron. Pleased to meet you,' he quipped cheerfully, and put on his trademark grin. The other boy paused, appearing hesitant at first... but in the end he took the offered hand in his own, smiling as well, and replied: 'I’m… Django.'
1. Identical Identities

**Title:** Lunar Knight, Solar Sentry

**Pairings:** DjangoLita, SabataCarmilla

**Word Count:** 2750

**Type:** Crossover Canon AU (Boktai: uhm…oo; /Lunar Knights: just after Margrave Rymer)

**Rating:** T (for violence, blood, language, and other stuff related to vampire slaying that might come up later if I continue this)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Boktai or Lunar Knights. They belong to Konami.

**Summary:** "Name's Aaron. Pleased to meet you," he quipped cheerfully, and put on his trademark grin. The other boy paused, appearing hesitant at first... but in the end he took the offered hand in his own, smiling as well, and replied: "I'm… Django." [XoverCanonAU

**[Rare A/N: **Please bear with me, as I have no experience with Boktai, only Lunar Knights. Any helpful info will be accepted gratefully.

Also, a warning: there is lots of scene-jumping in this fanfic. XD;

* * *

Chapter 1

Identical Identities

A dark figure stood over the ruined figure of the Margrave, his features shadowed by his cloak in the light of the full moon.

"Im… Impossible!" Rymer hissed, his armor falling to pieces.

"Hmph." The swordsman sheathed his weapon. "So much for your Casket Armor, Margrave." He sneered, looking down his nose at the fallen vampire. "Pathetic... It was hardly a match for my blade."

Rymer growled. "The legendary sword Vanargand… What are you?" he demanded of the cloaked man. "What are you, you who are not a vampire… and yet cannot be human, for you wield the Dark Sword?!"

The man offered him no answer. Instead, he raised his right hand toward the sky— and Rymer roared in fury as he was imprisoned in the casket that fell from it. His enraged screams were quickly muffled by several layers of thick metal.

"Ready to fly, _Mrow?_"

A jet-black cat fluttered up to the swordsman's shoulder, head tilting to focus on the man's face.

Instead of acknowledging his feline acquaintance, the cloaked vampire hunter continued to look down disdainfully at the Margrave's coffin of a prison. Then, shifting his gaze to the night sky, his one visible eye narrowed against the moonlight. The cat waited for his answer.

Lucian 'humph'ed again, and finally turned to the Terennial at his side.

"Let's go."

* * *

_A cheerful voice cut into the Laplace's audio system. "Yoo-hoo! Alice reporting! " _

"_Hey, good job purifying the Margrave! You did it faster than I expected." In a matter of seconds, video feed to match the voice occupied a portion of the screen._

_Lucian narrowed his eyes. "Sunflower Girl. What do you want?"_

"_Hey, I have a name, you know," the rabbit-eared girl replied. "Sheesh…"_

"_Get to the point, Sunflower Girl."_

Lucian narrowed his eye at the mansion looming before him, his brow furrowed. Glancing once more at the paper that he'd scrawled the address of the place on, he stuffed it into a deep pocket in his cloak.

_Alice made a noise reminiscent of Lucian's 'humph'. "Well, fine, then. Be that way. Anyhow…_

_"__It turns out that that alchemist you wanted to know about, (Sheridan, wasn't it?), lives in a mansion just northeast of the Margrave's place. Convenient, ne?" Alice appeared rather proud of herself. "I'll give you the address…"_  


His gaze swept over the building's upper floors and finally came to a rest on the spacious front porch and gate. After a moment of consideration, Lucian made towards his destination.

He made short work of the gate, clearing it in one fleet-footed jump. Landing on the cobblestone path with hardly a thud, he took a second to examine the great double doors that led inside. Fisting a gloved hand, he leant forward to rap his knuckles against the huge wooden entryway.

The door swung inward just as his fingers brushed against the wood.

Lucian hardly had the time to blink. In front of him, a pair of ebony eyes rose to meet his lightly startled expression. "Hello. How may I help you?"

* * *

"Crap!"

Aaron ducked behind the shadow of a large crate, heart racing. _Please __don't __see __me __please __d—_

The Hound barked sharply, nose twitching, growled, and charged.

"WhoooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAA_AAHHHHHH_!" A cry of surprise mounting into a full-out yell of terror, the apprentice gunslinger bolted for the nearby stairway. The ferocious creature snapped at his heels, and the brunette forced himself to run faster, else he become mincemeat in its powerful jaws. Charging up the steps, he threw himself at the doorknob.

Locked. They boy felt the blood drain from his face.

"Open! Come on…!" As he wrestled with the unyielding door, The Hound skid to a halt at the base of the steps, barking madly, and Aaron yelped in fear. "Dangit, no! _OPEN!_"

Finally, with an unholy screech of rusted metal, the door gave way and the brunette fell to the other side. Landing face first with a thud, Aaron scrambled to close the door. Knowing he had no time to pick himself up, he twisted his lower body around and managed to slam the door shut with a well-aimed kick.

The monster began to throw himself at the now closed entry. Pulling himself up into a half-sitting position, Aaron watched the door heave under the weight of the Hound's charge, and his eyes widened with alarm when the metal puckered in a sizable dent.

He nearly collapsed in relief when the growling faded away.

"Aw, man…" Aaron muttered, wiping the cold sweat from his brow with a shaking hand. "That was way too close." Slouching in exhaustion, he exhaled slowly in an attempt to calm himself - his heart was still racing furiously, but the blind panic that had clouded his vision was faster to alleviate. He took the moment of quiet to examine his surroundings.

The area he was in was rather narrow, a hallway-type of place. No monsters in sight, he noticed, to his relief. He really didn't know what he'd do if he got caught by another one of those Hounds. They were powerful, and one of them had more than enough muscle to tear him apart easily-

"Stop it," He chastised himself out loud, smacking himself. _Earnest __and __Kay __are __counting __on __me __to __get __all __the __guild __members __out __of __here. __I __can't __let __them __down._

"I can't let them down," Aaron repeated softly. His usually bright blue-gray eyes dimmed as his thoughts turned to what kind of trouble his fellow guildsmen were getting themselves into… and what kind of trouble he might get himself into…

A piercing scream cut through his moody thoughts.

Aaron bolted to his feet. Another scream issued down the hallway to his right, and he took off without a second thought, mind only focused on that shrill sound. At the end of the passageway he didn't so much throw open the door as he crashed through it. He cleared the threshold without hesitation, ready to face danger— and found himself blinded.

He halted, unable to see. _Sunlight! _he realized, and threw up an arm to shield his eyes from it. His mind reeled at the foreign warmth on his bare face and arms. _So __the __rumors _were _true...! __The __vampire __slayer __really __did __liberate __part __of __the __ParaSOL._

But first things first. Aaron blinked the stars out of his eyes as best he could, continuing his search through narrowed eyes. His hopes were significantly higher, he admitted to himself; surely if the sun were on their side, the resistance might have an edge on the monsters-

Or so he thought, until he saw the source of the scream.

"Please! Someone help!" The girl was obviously trapped, stuck between the precarious edge of the rooftop and the Skeleton that blocked the only escape.

Aaron dared to run forward as far as he could, stopping only inches from the edge of the next edifice. He inhaled sharply as the girl faltered and tripped, shaking with fear; her feet skid under her but her body fell on solid roof, sparing her a painful fall off the building.

As the undead creature closed in on its prey, Aaron's mind raced - He was too far away to carry out most of the haphazard ideas that came to him. Frustrated, he swallowed back a curse. There was nothing he could do but watch as the skeleton advanced.

His fingers curled into fists, shaking with his anger as he watched the scene unfold. _If only…!_

"If only I was able to use my gun…" His hand hovered over the device, which hung idly at his waist. Aaron ground his teeth, feeling more useless by the second. "Training's useless if I can't do anything with it!" he yelled, beside himself with the situation at hand- "It's useless! I'M USELESS!"

_Oh, shush._

Aaron froze, bewildered. "W… wha…?"

_You're making such a racket. _

_Do you want to help her, or not?_

"Of… of course I want to!" the boy yelled into the air, the question effectively curing his slack-jawed-ness at being talked to by a disembodied voice.

_Well, th_en.

Aaron flinched as a bright light suddenly cut into the right side of his field of vision. Abruptly, he realized it was the gun.

His father's gun.

His gun.

He felt as if his heart had skipped a beat. It couldn't be. That power, the light... Without thinking, he drew, raised, leveled, and aimed the Solar Gun— just as he'd done so many times in training… Only it was real this time.

The Solar Gun began to charge. Humming with an energy that hadn't been there before, its solar panels slid into place, and the target lock activated, hovering above the barrel of the gun.

Aaron pulled the trigger.

In a flash of brilliance, the Knight released its first shot in years.

* * *

The pale-faced maid looked up at him blankly. "Excuse me, sir?"

"…Ah. I…" The Dark Swordsman recovered rather quickly, but still eyed the maid with a palpable unease. "I apologize. You look… similar to someone I know."

_Too __similar…_

"I see," she monotoned, and Lucian frowned at the faltering tone of her voice. _An android?_

"I need to see the alchemist Sheridan," he said quickly, changing the subject. The maid, to his great annoyance, shook her head. "Why not?" he demanded.

"Professor Sheridan is currently in the middle of an important experiment. He hopes you will underst—"

"I couldn't care less about what he's doing!" Lucian cut in irritably, "I need to see him!"

The maid, appearing unfazed, stood her ground. Lucian growled. His free hand twitched to the hilt of his sword, a consequence of habit that didn't escape the girl's attention.

"I'll force my way in, if I have to!"

"Sir, I— oh!" She gasped as Lucian forcibly shoved his arm just past her shoulder to reach the door that was still half shut, palm flat against the polished wood. "Sir, I implore you to- Sir!"

He grit his teeth, and pushed. The great wooden door heaved on its hinges, slowly at first but with increasing velocity. Lucian increased the force, being as impatient as he was. When it was two-thirds of the way open, he rushed past the android maid, shoving her to the thick carpet— more roughly than intended.

Muttering an apology to the stunned girl before heading into the interior of the mansion, Lucian threw open the second pair of double doors at the other end of the ward.

There was a mighty crash and a clatter of laboratory equipment. Lucian's gaze spanned most of the room before coming to rest on a middle-aged, graying man, who was at the moment cowering against a pile of freshly fallen books and what looked like archaic electronic equipment. "Who's there?!"

Lucian ignored the shaken inquiry. "Sheridan, I presume?" he barked.

The man perked at the sound of his name, wiry frame tensing. "You… You're the Dark Swordsman Lucian," he gasped, finally recognizing the intruder's figure. At this Lucian paused, letting the man go on. It never hurt to know where his reputation stood in terms of vagueness. The vaguer, the better.

Sheridan did go on. "And your sword…" The lavender-haired boy watched with some amount of amusement as the scientist glanced with wide eyes at the infamous weapon sheathed on his back. "The Dark Sword Vanargand!"

So they'd shed some light on his sword's identity after all, Lucian mused. People these days… it seemed as if they lived in and of shadows; whispers and secrets replacing spoken dialect and speech as the preferred way of communication. The vampires' ceaseless night probably added to their retreat to the surreptitious and more shrewd of things.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Lucian pulled his sword from its place on his back (to the poor fellow's alarm) and stabbed it into the wood of the lab floor, effectively fixing it vertically immobile in the ground. He crossed his arms.

There was no mincing words. The Legendary Swordsman spoke bluntly, his visible eye narrowing down at the man: "I need to become stronger, alchemist Sheridan."

"You're going to help me."

* * *

_Yes!_ Aaron thought triumphantly, watching the single point of radiance tear through the air; it was aimed perfectly at the offending Ghoul. The shot was perfect; it just simply couldn't miss, and would easily fell the undead monster with that one hit. The girl would be safe…

The suddenly, to his surprise and horror, aforementioned girl picked herself up from where she had fallen and began to flee again— running unknowingly into the path of the bullet.

Eyes widening in panic, Aaron did the only thing he could do:

"LOOK OUT!"

At that moment, everything seemed to slow.

Bewildered, the girl halted…

…her head turned, ever so slowly…

…the bulled neared its destination, and she found herself in the line of fire…

…Aaron watched in shock and dread as her eyes widened in terrified realization…

…and his mouth opened in a single cry of dismay, synonymous with her scream of fear.

"_**NO!"**_

As if on cue, a red-and-tan blur came hurling in from the left, tackling the young girl down even as she was still screaming. They both landed heavily near the right edge of the building and continued to roll. Aaron pulled his eyes away from watching them come to a halt barely inches from the building roof and turned just in time to see the gunshot strike the Ghoul full-on, literally ripping it off its feet and reducing it to ashes where it stood.

Aaron gawked only for a second; quickly pulling himself to his senses, he dashed to the flight of stairs that led to the rooftop where the girl had landed.

"Hey," he called, "Hey, miss! Are you okay?!" Unwilling to waste any time, Aaron jumped the railing on the side of the staircase and, landing neatly on the fifth step, bounded up two steps at a time.

He froze with one foot on the roof.

The stranger that had rescued the girl knelt there, on the opposite side of the building. Gently, he set her down on her feet. The girl looked up at him gratefully, but with a flicker of confusion at the unfamiliar face. Then the boy stood and dusted himself off, and turned to leave— only to find someone staring at him.

Aaron didn't know what to make of this guy.

His hair was the most blonde he had ever seen, rival to Bea's own fair gold locks. The outfit he donned was reminiscent of a Guild Gunslinger's, complete with netting sleeves; however the general design appeared several decades old. A bandanna of sorts sat on his hairline, effectively sweeping back most of the boy's hair from his light grey eyes. As he continued staring at the stranger, he noticed several emotions flitting over his face at nearly the same time— first, a trace of surprise, then wariness at a potential foe…confusion as he scrutinized his appearance, relief at finding an ally, and finally—

Acceptance.

* * *

Sabata wasn't having the best of nights.

First, he'd awoken in a completely unfamiliar place— to find himself surrounded by a mob of Bok. The resulting tussle had cost him mobility in his right arm and most of his energy and time to fend off. Next, he'd been assaulted by a large ball of slime, and by the time he had escaped from the thing it had managed to poison him. Badly.

_Damn…Where's Django?_ Sabata couldn't help but worry about his younger brother. He'd seen neither hair nor scarf of the Solar Boy all night… and from what recollections he'd been able to piece together from before his apparent blackout, that wasn't a good thing. Besides, he needed some sunscreen, fast.

The Dark Boy blinked his bleary crimson eyes repeatedly; no matter how much he squinted or rubbed or tried to focus his eyes, they refused to see properly. As an added bonus, his energy was dangerously low. And with his gun arm down…

Sabata growled in frustration.

Lifting his bandanna'ed head to look up at the fading night sky, he grimaced at the faint light rising from the east.

"This poison better wear off soon or I'll _fry_," Sabata muttered to himself grumpily, with a touch of agitation. He couldn't help but admit to himself, as sad as it seemed to him, that he indeed wished Django was there with him.

Little brothers were such nuisances.

* * *

Might as well introduce himself, Aaron decided. He didn't look much like a potential enemy, and besides— he could be a Guild member. That last fact alone was enough to make him feel obliged to help out the other boy.

His mind resolved, Aaron wasted no time walking to where the boy and the little girl were; at this movement the blonde boy turned to face his quickly nearing figure, gaze fixated on the approaching brunette. Once there, Aaron thrust a gloved hand at the stranger, and put on his trademark grin. The other blinked wary eyes at the offered hand. Aaron said cheerily, "Name's Aaron. What's your's?"

The other gunslinger paused, appearing hesitant at first; but in the end he took the hand in his own, smiling as well, and replied:

"I'm… Django."

* * *

**A/N:**

Ghouls are the Lunar Knight counterpart of Boks in Boktai. Of course, Sabata doesn't know this, so of course he refers to them as Boks; Aaron or Lucian on the other hand, would them Ghouls. But all you smart people already knew that. :D  
…I just realized how much of a chatter I made Toasty into. Plus, I horribly butchered his opening/intro lines. Hm… I just hope I didn't make him too OOC. oo;

This is a pretty good beginning chapter for a fanfiction. It's too bad I have no idea where this is going. XD;

Healthy authors need three square meals of review every day. Please contribute to the survival of the waning species of Fanfictionus authorus and leave a review.


	2. Fateful Encounter

-1**Title** Lunar Knight, Solar Sentry

**Pairings:** DjangoLita, SabataCarmilla

**Word Count:** 3745

**Type:** Crossover Canon AU (Boktai: uhm…oo; /Lunar Knights: just after Margrave Rymer)

**Rating:** T (for violence, blood, language, and other stuff related to vampire slaying)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Boktai or Lunar Knights. They belong to Konami.

**Summary:** "Name's Aaron. Pleased to meet you," he quipped cheerfully, and put on his trademark grin. The other boy paused, appearing hesitant at first... but in the end he took the offered hand in his own, smiling as well, and replied: "I'm… Django. [XoverCanonAU

* * *

Chapter 2

Fateful Encounter

"Amazing…. Absolutely astounding!" Sheridan exclaimed. "It appears your sword— er, Vanargand— is composed nearly entirely of dark matter. The atomic and chemical structure of the blade is certainly extraordinary…! And of course, it reacts to dark energy… Hmm… yes……" Here the renown alchemist trailed off, tapping in several more lines of command into his scanning device. He continued to murmur elatedly to himself constantly as he did so, his dark red eyes eagerly lapping up the data that appeared on the nearby monitor.

Flicking back a black-furred ear, Nero watched only half-interestedly from his perch on one of the contraption's thicker ceiling cables. Wearing a idle expression typical of a feline of his demeanor, he shifted his attention to the younger human leaning on the wall, arms crossed, on the far side of the room.

He could tell Lucian was forcing himself to remain still, though the willpower that was probably keeping the agitated boy from simply snatching Vanargand away from the mechanical monstrosity didn't quite reach his twitching brow. What was visible of the expression under the teen's heavy bangs was not one of his finest. No, Nero decided, Lucian was best left alone at a time like this. It was a pity; he rather enjoyed his conversations with the Dark Swordsman, and now would have been a good time for one.

But still… One lazy eye regarded the boy's visage one more time. It wouldn't hurt to try, at least.

Picking himself up, Nero stretched, yawned, and unfurled his red wings. Flapping lazily, the feline flew himself to the tiled floor, dropped to all fours, and padded softly to Lucian's brooding figure. Once there, he sat himself close the hem of the teen's cloak, long tail swishing. The boy gave no acknowledgement of the approaching Terrenial. Nero waited.

After a time, Lucian finally spoke, to Nero's delight. "What is it."

It wasn't a question, but a statement; more like a command, really. Lucian really was in a irked mood. Nero couldn't help but purr his amusement.

"Hnn…" he voiced airily, the noise resonating with the underlying vibration, "Nothing much, really… This Sheridan fellow is rather entertaining when it comes to his work. He acts like a child on Christmas morn." He paused, and let the small smirk on his muzzle fade quickly before he continued, "However…"—he twisted his head back , looking up at Lucian out of a corner of his eye— "you don't look so amused, Lucian."

"Hn." Lucian's reply was more of a grunt than anything else. Nero sighed, knowing that was probably all the conversation he was going to get for a while. He turned his head back forward, knowing that he'd tried, at least.

"…This is useless."

Nero's head whipped around again. "Hm?" _So __he __was __willing __to __speak __after __all…_

Lucian's eye narrowed. "He's scanning every last detail of it, but there's no secret to find. Nothing to discover." He watched the scanning point of the machine run over Vanargand again. "Useless."

Nero mulled over his words. "Really, now…?" he asked.

"It's simple." Lucian's scowl deepened. "Vanargand is a weapon, a manifestation of dark matter. It reacts to dark power. Therefore," he smirked, eyeing the machine with contempt, "the stronger the wielder, the stronger the sword." He paused. "I need to get stronger, is all…"

"If that' so, Lucian," Nero purred, "and you knew this already… why did you look for Sheridan in the first place?"

"I wasn't so sure of it myself," the teen admitted begrudgingly, glancing down at the feline. "It seemed too simple. Too easy. I needed… confirmation. The possibility of discovering something new about Vanargand was a fringe benefit. Although…"He glared pointedly at Sheridan. "I'm not so sure it was worth the visit."

"I see," Nero said, following his gaze.

Silence ensued after that. Lucian was obviously done speaking, and Nero didn't bother pushing for more. He would say what he wanted to him at the right time. Finally, defeated and bored, Nero approached the professor himself as he couldn't take any more of this incessant… _waiting_ .

"Excuse me, sir. Yes, down here," he spoke up to the man, who blinked down at him, surprised. Sitting on his hind legs, the black cat looked up at him unblinkingly. "I was wondering, sir, how long will this whole process will take, approximately?"

Sheridan, still blinking bright monitor lights out of his eyes, stared at the feline for a second or two. "Oh. Oh!" he realized. "I'm terribly sorry, I do apologize…" The man turned to Lucian, who glowered at him from his corner of the room. "Ah, well…

"I… believe the process may take… several…. hours to complete," Sheridan finally admitted, cringing under the boy's noticably darker glare.

Lucian was _not_ pleased. "_Now _you tell us—"

"If that's the case," Nero cut in quickly, "We'll come back for the sword later. Lucian has some other important business elsewhere, you see." He cocked his head in a way that only cats can, and queried, "Will tomorrow be a good time?"

"Ah, yes… of… of course," the alchemist stammered, still avoiding Lucian's death stare. Nero nodded and padded away softly, motioning for his human partner to follow. Lucian did, albeit grouchily. The middle-aged man looked up only when Lucian turned his back to him, and then watched the two of them leave via the double doors. The alchemist turned back to the monitor and keyboard with a sigh.

The Dark Swordsman… still a teen, of all ages! Sheridan shook his head. For someone as young as he to have to go through all this… this _vampire__-__slaying _business…

He sighed again, this time running a hand through his graying hair. Back to work, he thought nonchalantly, clearing his mind of the strange pair. Talking cats and brooding teenagers could wait until tomorrow.

The machine whirred and gave a shrill beep as it prepared to run the scanner again.

* * *

Lucian stalked through the double doors, the furious expression on his face not even yielding to the sound of the way slamming shut behind him. Nero followed at a distance, fluttering languidly to the post of a great, winding stairwell that led to the upstairs of the mansion. Presently, the boy whirled to confront his feline acquaintance. 

"This _wasn't_ supposed to go that way," he near-snarled, eyes flashing dangerously.

Nero sighed, preparing for a heated quarrel. "Lucian—"

"Hello. How may I help you?"

Both parties turned to stare at the source of the abrupt interruption, none other than the android maid. She blinked wide, emotionless eyes at them, a tray with a tea set and several pastries in her hands. With an air of almost innocence, she held them out, oblivious to Lucian's seething anger. "What would you like?"

Lucian turned a dark scowl on her before turning away. "Nothing. Go away."

"What would you like?" she pressed again, despite his curt reply.

This time he stopped, and turned to look at her as if she'd offered to suck his blood. "_Nothing_," he articulated, and looked away again; but the maid shook her head.

Lifting the tray to him once more, she asked, "What would you _like?_"

This time, even Nero paused at the tone of the android's voice. She looked up at him unfalteringly, an air of smug finality around her; and Lucian just stared.

_I…what?_ He blinked._ What is she trying to do? Force-feed me tea?_ Looking down at her with almost utmost contempt, as his dark mood rather called for it, Lucian scrutinized the maid's emotionless— yet triumphant, façade. As he gazed down at her face, a person came to his mind, unbidden. He shoved it away, quickly; but the resemblance was uncanny. Frighteningly so. This girl— no, android— she was so… similar.

But why?

Why _her?_

Scowling, the lavender-haired boy exhaled sharply through his nose, shifting his gaze uncomfortably in agitated defeat to the corner of the ward. His own eyes seeking escape from her now inquisitive regard, he mumbled, "Nothing." Inhaling slowly, he met her gaze after a short while, now calmer. After a second thought he added, "Thank you."

The maid nodded her understanding, satisfied. "You are most welcome, Sir."

* * *

"So, kid." 

"…"

"Kid?"

"…"

"Kid, stop staring at me like that," Toasty said flatly. "It's kinda disturbing."

"…uh…" Aaron snapped back to reality at the Terennial's blunt statement. The sunflower had a rather big nose… "Sorry. What…?"

Toasty sighed. "I was _asking_," he repeated, "you're the one who fired that shot back there, right?"

"Huh?" Aaron asked. The brunette blinked. "Wait…oh. Oh! Yeah, that was me," he confirmed, a bright grin alighting his face. Then it disappeared just as quickly as it had come as he asked dumbly, "What about it?" Toasty smacked him over the head with the end of his stalk. "Hey!!"

The light Terrenial snorted. "You woke me up, that's what! I was having the nicest dream, resting in the barrel of that gun there." He motioned to the Knight. "And then you just had to make a racket, eh?"

"Wha? Oh, uh… sorry?" Aaron said uncertainly, eyes wide as he rubbed the new sore on his forehead. "…wait a minute." Aaron's brow puckered in a frown. "You were… _resting?_ In the barrel of my _gun?__"_

"That's what I said," Toasty flicked a leaf at him, annoyed.

"So…" Aaron went on ludicrously, "All this time… the reason I wasn't even able to squeeze out a single shot… was _you?!_"

"Oh, bother…" Toasty muttered to himself, covering his sunny face with a single leaf in an expression of exasperation. Aaron continued to rant.

Django watched the two interact from a small distance, a smile playing on his lips. Memories of his days with master Otenko drifted up from the corners of his mind, coupled with several other recollections from the past… His father, Ringo… His mother, Mani… It was inevitable that his mind wandered to the subject of his brother, Sabata. Whom, speaking of which, he hadn't seen in a long while.

The Solar Boy frowned, grey eyes pulling away from Toasty and Aaron as he contemplated. It didn't help that he remembered almost nothing of the situation he had been in before waking up in this foreign place… though finding another Solar Boy had been a pleasant surprise for him. He'd seriously thought he was the only one left, but it appeared not…

Something tugged at the hem of his shirt. Glancing down, he found the girl he'd saved earlier looking up at him. Withought a second thought Django smiled brightly at her; there was no use in troubling others with his own matters, and the poor girl had suffered enough stress for one day.

The girl blushed slightly at his response, to Django's amusement. "H… here, sir!" she squeaked, holding up her hands. The blonde peered curiously into her small grasp.

"Thank you," he said kindly. The girl relinquished her precious load of fruit and candies to him, placing them in his hands carefully. Looking up from the goods to the girl, Django asked, "Is it really okay for me to have these?"

"Oh, yes! I work at the shop in Old Culican," she explained happily, smiling shyly up at him. "Um… I'm Lisbeth." Her cheeks tinged redder, and she looked down at her feet. "Th-thank you… for saving me earlier, sir…"

"You're welcome," he replied (despite the fact that he had no idea where Old Culican was), then paused. "Although…" Turning to see the other gunslinger still quarreling with the sunflower-like guardian, Django smiled. "You should thank that boy over there, too. He got rid of the undead after I got you away. And call me Django," he added.

"Okay, Sir Django," she agreed. She paused, however, somewhat put off; Django asked her what was wrong. "Um, well…" Twirling a strand of hazel-brown hair on a finger, she told him meekly, "I gave you all the things I have."

Django laughed, and pressed some of the items back into her hands. She thanked him and scampered away to present them to Aaron, who accepted them with gusto. During his many thanks the brunette looked up at the blonde, questioning; Django smiled, shrugged, and held up the stuff he had received. Aaron, seeing them, grinned as well and thanked the little girl for his share of the goods.

"All right... It's time for me to return to my shop," The girl piped, obviously satisfied with the outcome of her thanks-giving. "Be careful out there, Sir Aaron, Sir Django! Come on by and visit me at the shop anytime you like!"

"Bye, Lisbeth!" Aaron called cheerily, waving as she left. Django followed suit, though not as loudly. Soon after, the two boys were left on the building alone, with Toasty hovering hear Aaron's shoulder.

They stood there for a moment.

"So, boys…" Toasty broke the silence suddenly, "do you really think it's okay for a little girl like her to go off by herself? I mean," he said, appearing thoughtful, "Wasn't this place under attack by vampires…?"

Aaron's eyes widened, and he slapped his forehead in realization. "Oh, cra—!! That's right!"

A single, swift glance was shared between the two gunslingers. One side radiated a novice's panic, the other showed habitual readiness. Aaron froze.

Django leapt forward first, and Aaron only snapped out of it and followed suit a split second after, his mind still caught on that half-second glance. _He __looked…_ _so __ready...!_ Turning on another corner of the street, Aaron stole a glance at the other boy's expression.

"Hey! You alright?" Toasty gasped, and Aaron nodded quickly, ignoring the pain that shot through the palms of his hands. As he pulled himself up, the solar terennial sighed. "You shouldn't run so fast if you can't pay attention to where you're going."

"Sorry," Aaron mumbled, wincing as he shifted his weight to his knees and hands. Normally that kind of trip wouldn't have been much of a fall, but at the speed they'd been running at… The heels of his hands smarted from catching his weight on the worn concrete. _I __can't __believe __I just __tripped __like __that…_ He closed his eyes, initially to shake the pain off; but as he did so he saw Django's face emerge ifrom the dark of his eyelids.

The expression didn't match the boy.

It was an expression reserved for those with the experience of fighting, of having fought with their life on the line. Of knowing what you were fighting for.

He'd seen it on many of the senior members' faces… In fact, Aaron could never remember a time when he had seen anything like that look on any of the younger generations, those who hadn't lived through the previous era: that dark time when the vampire race finally overtook their lighter counterparts.

It was one he'd seen Earnest and Kay wear only occasionally when the previous war was mentioned, and only once on Bea's, when one of the surviving members of the scout team had reported the Margrave's most recent kidnapping of civilians and handful of guild members. It had only been two days later that she had set off for the Mansion herself. She wasn't old enough to have seen the sun in the past, but Aaron suspected she knew to some degree what passed through the elders' minds when they held the same expression. Many times he'd wished he could know what it was that would cause them to become so serious, so determined…

This boy couldn't be any older than he was now. When had he seen what the others had so long ago?

"Are you alright?"

Head snapping up at the sound of Django's voice, Aaron found himself looking straight into the very thing that haunted his thoughts.

"I'm alright," he said, and the blonde nodded.

"We should get going. We need to find Lisbeth before night comes."

Aaron frowned. "Sundown?" he asked, tilting his head. "Dusk won't come for at least 9 hours." That bit of information came from the guild's almost ritual habit of keeping time by the sun calendar and the old 12/24-hour frame. Dawn and dusk had become abstract terms for a certain time instead of the actual thing, as the sun had ceased to rise several decades ago. Dawn meant 12:00 AM, Dusk was 12:00 PM (AM and PM being also word-turned-terms).

Django shook his head, and turned to look westward, where the sun currently hung in all its fiery glory. Aaron attempted the same, only to have the afterimage burned into his irises. He opted to look at the cityscape just below it. _How __can __he __look __at __the __sun __so __directly?_

After a moment, Django looked back at his wondering companion. "At the rate the sun's moving, it won't be that long. I'd say… five and a half hours before the sun goes down, tops," he added, after a second of thought.

Aaron's jaw went slack. "What? Only five?" _And __how __can __you _know _that, __when __this __is __the __first __time __in almost 160__years __that __the __sun's __come __up?!_ He longed to ask, but kept himself from it. _He __could've __read __it __in __a __book __or __something, __I __suppose... __I'll __have __to __spend __more __time __in __the __Record __Library,_ the brunette mused.

"_I'd_ say only four," Toasty interjected, rustling his petals. At the look of surprise on both boys' faces, he scoffed, "What, am I supposed to be an icon of light and not know when the sun goes down? _Please._"

Aaron scowled. "You couldn't have told this to us _sooner?_"

"Hey, _sor__-__ree,_" the sunflower quipped, shaking an annoyed leaf at the irked boy. "Besides, I thought you knew already."

"Well, we _didn't!_" _Or __at __least _I _didn't…_

"Um… guys?" Django looked between the two uneasily.

"Or at least _you_ didn't, Aaron," Toasty laughed. Aaron fumed.

"So what?! It's not anyone taught me how to tell!" the brunette countered angrily, "The sun's been gone for decades! And what were you doing, _sleeping _the whole time?"

Django froze. _Gone…_

"_Recovering_, idiot, RECOVERING!"

_The sun… Gone?!_

"You couldn't come out even once in a hundred and fifty years to help us?!"

_A hundred… and fifty years…?! _Django's mind reeled. _That can't be! Sabata and I… we defeated Hel, and Jormungandr…! The sun was finally safe!_

"It wasn't my fault!" Toasty shouted back, golden brow furrowed.

"Well, then—"

A thundering crash shook the Old Culican streets. Django immediately braced his legs for the shockwave that followed; however, Aaron lilted backwards, arms flailing, and nearly fell on his bottom.

"What the—?!" Aaron yelled, bewildered.

Django opened his mouth to speak, only to be blasted backwards in a second wave of force as the brick building on the other side of the street exploded. Even Toasty, who floated in the air, was involuntarily blown several yards away.

Rolling to a hard stop on his side, Django cringed and brought his arms up over his head. Several feet away, Aaron, who had landed on his stomach, did the same, his thick gloves raised to block any falling debris. Chunks of broken glass, metal, and brick showered the street. Dust filled the air, settling into the spaces between the pieces of demolished building. The last of the broken, airborne glass plinked to the street.

Everything was still.

Aaron lifted his head up slowly. A cough came from his left, and he twisted his head to see Django pulling himself off the ground, clothes and blonde hair matted with dust and small particles. Placing his palms on either side, he heaved himself up as well, feeling some of the bigger rubble fall off his back. He blinked, as the remaining dust invaded the corners of his eyes.

"Aaron! Are you alright?!"

"Kay?" His voice came out hoarse, and immediately he coughed to clear it. Someone put a hand on his back. "Kay, izzat you? Where's Earnest?"

"Right here, kiddo," came Earnest's voice, sounding a little distant; Aaron looked back and found him dusting Django off. He looked at the older gunslinger in relief; the white-haired man grinned at him. "Hey… Toasty!" he said in surprise, catching sight of the sunny terennial.

"Good to see you two again," Toasty replied, but Kay shook his head.

"This isn't the time." A rough hand alighted on his shoulder, and Aaron looked up into Kay's serious face. "We gotta get you out of here, kid. Did you get all the members out of the building?"

"Huh?" The young gunslinger asked, then remembered suddenly. "Oh, oh! Yeah, everyon—"

_WHIRRRRRRRRR— CLIK._

Kay growled. "Earnest!" he yelled, and shoved Aaron towards the other man; at the same time, he drew his solar gun pair, Ninja. "Get them out of here! NOW!"

The ground trembled.

"Earnest!" Aaron cried, nearly colliding with him. "What's going on?!"

"Just run!" he replied, ushering the two boys hurriedly to the other end of the street. They stumbled to keep up, Toasty hovering worriedly just above Aaron's left ear.

_WHIRRRRRRRRR-CLIKCLICK. WHIRRR_RR**RR**_**—**_

"Aaron!" Earnest yelled, "Get the other guild members out of Old Culican! We'll take care of this area!" With that, he pushed them suddenly to the left, into a narrow alley. "Go!"

"But what about—"

"GO! NOW!!" he yelled, and disappeared in the direction of the noise.

—**RRRR_BANG._**

What was visible of the open street filled with dust and flying debris.

"EARNEST!" Aaron shouted, panic creeping into his voice. He moved toward the street. "What—"

"Aaron, we'd better listen to what he says!" Django cut in, grabbing the boy's shoulder before he could run out of the safety of the buildings. More explosions and the sound of firing arms echoed into the small area.

Aaron fought his grip. "I can't just leave them there!"

Releasing the other boy's shoulder and grabbing his wrist instead, Django grit his teeth. "We don't have a choice!" he said, giving a hard yank on the captured appendage. "Please!"

He had turned to yell that he _did _have a choice, that he would choose to help Earnest and Kay, and that he couldn't and wouldn't just leave them in a danger zone like that— but Aaron froze at the expression on the blonde's face. _That look, again..._

As the blonde dragged him away from the imminent battle, Aaron could only keep looking back, flinching at the occasional cry of a familiar voice, cringing at the sound of bombs and fire wreaking havoc behind them. It wasn't until a few blocks later that Aaron mumbled that Django could let go now, he could walk by himself, you know; Earnest and Kay could probably take care of themselves, they were the best in the Guild, after all…

The other boy dropped the hold on his wrist with an apologetic look.

* * *

Yay! New chapter. :3  
I totally made up the 12/24-hour time frame and word-turned-term thingies. Because I'm so original and I like to sound smart. :P

Now for review replies:

Black Scepter: Thank you very much! I'll go read it soon. :D

Raven: Thank goodness. I thought the choppy scene-skipping would botch it up… And as a side note: yes, they are, in a way. X3

Skriker: Really? Okay. There should be more of Sabata in the next chapter.

Icy Cake: Oh, well, thank you. Me, either. I can't say much for myself on Lunar Knights, too, though. Our DS broke. I couldn't remember her name, at first, too. Had to look it up on a game script on a website. XD'

Aria: Thanks:D I hope to see more of this, also!


	3. Under the Moonlight

**Title:** Lunar Knight, Solar Sentry

**Pairings:** DjangoLita, SabataCarmilla, LucianEllen

**Word Count:** 2157

**Type:** Crossover Canon AU (Boktai: uhm…oo; /Lunar Knights: just after Margrave Rymer)

**Rating:** T (for violence, blood, language, and other stuff related to vampire slaying)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Boktai or Lunar Knights. They belong to Konami.

**Summary:** "Name's Aaron. Pleased to meet you," he quipped cheerfully, and put on his trademark grin. The other boy paused, appearing hesitant at first... but in the end he took the offered hand in his own, smiling as well, and replied: "I'm… Django." [XoverCanonAU

[A/N This chapter is dedicated to our favorite two Lunar boys. Hooray:D

* * *

Chapter 3

Large, round glasses shone briefly as they were adjusted.

"Had a rough day?"

Lucian snorted, but didn't dignify the question with a reply. He took a sip of his drink instead, the glass held easily between the tips of his fingers and his gaze lowered well below eye level of the bustling inside the bar. Thoughtful brooding came easily to the Dark Swordsman. As did ignoring his surroundings.

Laughter and high spirits punctuated the usual pub din. Smiles alighted on the tenants' faces as they shared gossip and news of their lives; smiles that lit up the once dim and melancholy atmosphere of the tavern, just as the newly restored sun and its light shone new hope on the lives of the people of Acuna. Another hearty guffaw escaped the throat of a frequent patron, the vulpid beside him and several other people enjoying their spare time together— as the prospect of a vampire-free future now actually seemed like a possible outcome for their planet.

Amidst all of this, Lucian kept a downcast face, absorbed in his own thoughts and musings, oblivious to and uncaring of the hope he'd inadvertently given to those around him. It was all wonderfully ironic: in fact, at the moment he looked downright angry.

The Information Broker smiled to herself. Typical Lucian.

"So…" the rabbit-eared girl began slowly, grinning brazenly at the teen across the table. Leaning back on her seat, she asked, "What is it you want to ask of _moi_ today?"

Nero inclined his head, expression an interesting repertoire of annoyance and smugness. A crimson wing stretched, then returned to its place. "Just looking for updates. Any new information?" he queried. Lucian declined to say anything.

"Nothing much, I don't think…" she trailed, her fake— or so she claimed— rabbit ears bouncing as she dipped her head in thought. After a moment, though, she started and snapped her fingers. A sly grin spread over her face as she leaned forward. "Actually… there is _something_."

"Did you check out the Gate of Binding yet? Apparently one of the emblems started glowing a few hours ago. The red one." The Broker paused, a single finger on her chin indicating wondering thought. "Strange, don't you think? I wonder why…?" she asked, a coy, inquisitive pout just barely visible on her lower lip.

Nero smiled, baring pointed teeth that denied her unspoken vie for information. "Ah… I thought so. Yes, strange indeed,"he added, and said no more; the Broker huffed and sat back in her seat, her attempt successfully halted.

Finally for the first time that night, Lucian's uncovered eye flickered up at the girl, frowning questioningly under furrowed eyebrows. Right hand still grasping his now empty glass, he turned to Nero and asked, "…what do you mean?"

Nero turned a now completely smug eye at his human companion. "I needed… confirmation," he intoned lazily. Lucian's frown deepened as he recognized the repeat of his own words. The black cat grinned.

"Let's go."

Lip still curved in a faux-pout, the Info Broker sniffed and crossed her arms as Lucian stood up to leave. "Oh, fine. Keep your info to yourself," she grouched. When the duo showed no acknowledgement, she added, "I'll find out sooner or later, you know!"

To her surprise and amazement, Lucian actually paused to cock his head in her direction, a smirk just barely visible on his face. "Then why spoil the fun of the surprise?" he asked snidely, and turned right around again; leaving the girl gape-jawed in indignation.

"Lucian! You…! That's not— that's not fair!" she stuttered. As the door of the tavern slammed shut she huffed in her seat, annoyed and flustered.

"You and your stupid one-line comebacks."

* * *

Sabata heaved himself forward, attempting again to ignore the pain that shot through his right arm. Finally after a time he grit his teeth, and blinked his crimson eyes wearily, preparing to take another step forward. Another sharp, throbbing pain attacked the same arm.

_At least I'm feeling _something_ in the arm, _he thought sarcastically. Pain meant his right arm was injured, but not dead. Which was a good thing. Usually.

Having found shelter in a narrow alleyway, the Dark Boy had managed to spend the majority of the day hidden from the rays of the sun, tucked away in a corner of the brick and concrete of the foreign city. Once darkness had fallen and the sunlight faded enough for him to wander, the first thing he done had been to escape the city boundaries, away from the shadows. There were too many corners to be jumped at and too many hiding places for monsters.

Currently he trudged through a lightly forested area, enough moonlight coming down on the worn path to keep him sufficiently energized, and enough cover from trees that, in the case he was trapped in daytime, he could survive with minimal damage.

He didn't expect much outside the city limits. A place infested with so many monsters would only have more monsters outside of it… so of course he was surprised, and slightly annoyed, when he ran into a solid brick wall.

Grimacing, Sabata paused before the obstacle. The strike to his head, though light at best, had sent painful waves through his skull. Spots danced in his eyes; he closed them, leaving himself in darkness.

Before he could fully reorient himself, he lurched on his feet— forward, unfortunately. Having enough mind to immediately throw himself backwards, so not to fall face first into the brick again, Sabata quickly found himself on his back in the grass with an even more painful blow resonating through his head.

He lay there, half his mind aware and cursing his pitiful condition, the other still reeling from the pain. Soon enough, the latter half won out, collapsing his will to go on and enticing him to a dangerous sleep.

Maybe the last thing that the quickly fading, awake portion of this mind thought was that— out in the middle of nowhere, lying next to a wall that, for all he knew, could stretch for miles— there was a very likely chance that he wouldn't wake up from the sleep that was creeping up on him now, until much, much later… maybe until it was too late.

Maybe. Or maybe not. He couldn't remember the rest. He couldn't remember anything anymore.

Sabata's mind soon closed to the pain and slowly folded in on itself, into the dark black of his consciousness. Oblivion shrouded him. There was no telling when he would wake up again.

For the first time in his life, the Dark Boy found himself afraid at the concept of a truly eternal night.

* * *

The Gate of Binding loomed close to the sky, its shadow casting an even darker shade of ebony over its already dark surroundings. Four seals' emblems reflected what little moonlight made it to their worn, glassy surfaces. Only one glowed a soft, vivid red.

Like the red of fire.

Ursula inspected the lighted seal, her own energy humming with the same ethereal light. Nero peered just over her shoulder. Lucian waited on the ground below them, occasionally glancing at the two Terrenials hovering at the seals. He fidgeted, as waiting wasn't something he was really good at— not really, anyway.

After a time, the Terrenial of Flame leant away from the glowing emblem. "Yep," she confirmed, "It's 'cause of me, alright. This thing's glowing because you freed me from the Margrave. Looks to me, Nero," she went on, turning to her companion, "like you'll be needing the other three Terrenials to get this Gate open."

"It appears that way to me also," Nero purred. Ursula nodded, and they began their descent to report their findings to Lucian.

"What did you find?" Lucian asked straightaway. Nero dropped onto the teen's shoulder, flexing tired wings. Ursula hovered close by.

"There's no way to get around it. The walls are too high, and most likely well-guarded on the inside; that fact aside, the Gate is nigh impenetrable by force." Nero spoke directly. Lucian swore under his breath.

"Anything else?"

Here Nero sniffed, looking up to regard the Gate's massive figure again. "The four seals are locked with the power of the Terennials. We'll need the other three in order to open the Gate." He swiveled around to focus his pointed gaze at the boy again. "There is no other way, Lucian."

"They're most likely trapped in other vampires' casket armor, like I was," Ursula added. "It won't be easy getting them."

"..Damn." Lavender locks slid back to reveal his agitation as Lucian looked up at the Gate. A scowl bent his brow into a furrow, and his one eye scrutinized its surface as if, just by glaring, he could somehow burn a way through the layers of metal.

But alas, no such thing happened; Lucian dropped his gaze, returning his attention to his immediate surroundings and situation.

"Tell Sunflower Girl to look up info on Casket Armor," he instructed Nero, who nodded sharply. His mind working quickly on their next course of action, he added, "We'll have to do some more info gathering. Sheridan might have something useful…" Turning to Ursula, he gave her a nod and thanked her for her assistance, to which she replied heartily with a puff of flame.

"It's my pleasure," she stated firmly, small flares emitting from the gems in her claws. "I owe you, besides. If there's anything else I can do to help, just give me a call."

"We will," Lucian accepted, and Ursula disappeared in a fiery blaze.

Glancing one last time at the Gate of Binding, Lucian turned his back on the massive entrance to New Culiacan. He'd be back soon enough.

"Let's go."

* * *

Sabata woke up.

While that was a revelation upon itself, the _location_ was even more so.

The Dark Boy first opened his eyes to find himself staring at the delicately intricate wallpaper of the ceiling of— wherever he was. 'Intricate' told him his vision had somehow been restored. 'Celing' meant he was indoors.

Indoors. Someone had found him and brought him in.

Sabata's eyes snapped open completely.

He struggled against heavy sheets to sit up; only heavy sheets and not heavy clothes as well, as his torso was bare, shirt and armor removed— but his foggy mind only partly registered this fact. Fumbling with the thick cloth, his haste to right himself was rewarded with the rush of blood draining from his head. Muttering a curse, Sabata put a hand over his forehead to steady himself as the room swayed uncomfortably under his gaze, which blurred temporarily.

Once his vision and nausea had cleared away, Sabata glanced around.

Whoever lived here certainly spent a significant worth of fortune on furnishings. The wallpaper he had seen earlier was applied around the entire room. The whole space was furnished sparingly, the only other furniture besides the bed being a small dresser and desk on the opposite wall. An ornate wooden door stood stately on his right, The large window that took up most of the wall space to his left was covered in part by a great, cascading violet curtain; a second look, and he saw that what was visible of the sky behind was an ebony blue, dotted with stars. Still nighttime, he realized with relief. Moonlight flooded through the opening, lighting up a long stretch of thick carpeting with its lunar glow.

Sabata pulled himself from the confines of the bed and its covers to stand in the rectangle, relishing the shafts of light on his tired body. Immediately he felt the lunar energy absorbing into his pale skin.

Or what was uncovered of it. Sabata, for the first time, noticed bandages wrapped his upper body. They wound up most of his chest and wrapped around one of his shoulders and upper arm. Other patches of gauze and medical tape blocked the direct moonlight from his body.

He scowled down at them in annoyance, almost tearing them off right then and there. But the door behind him opened before he could do anything else.

"I see you are awake."

Sabata stiffened immediately. "…I am," he replied shortly. "Were you the one that…?"

"Yes. You were quite heavily injured. I found you on the outer wall of the mansion." The voice replied. Sabata paused, then relaxed, turning slowly to greet the stranger. So she— for the voice was acutely female— was the one who had bandaged him. If that was the case, he was due his thanks to her. "Thank—"

His voice caught in his throat.

Unconsciously, Sabata took a step back. His crimson eyes widened in spite of himself, and his mouth opened, trying to speak— then closed, then opened again. Shock was apparent on his features.

The maid inclined her head, expression blank.

"You're very welcome, sir."

* * *

Aaaugh. Sorry this is really late. School is stupid. D: Sadly, I can't guarantee the next chapter to be coming out anytime soon. Sorry DX Thanks for reading.

REVIEW REPLIES:

Scepter: Thank you! That means a lot to me. :)

LanHikari200x: Thanks, me too. :) I can't wait to have Lucian and Sabata meet.

Aria: Really? .. I wouldn't say 'cute', exactly. More like, friendly. But cute. Wait... that's the same thing. XD

thattagen: Adjectives are GOOD. :D Actually, sometimes I cheat and use the wordprocessor dictionary/thesarus. :3


	4. Come Along

Title: Lunar Knight, Solar Sentry

Pairings: DjangoLita, SabataCarmilla, LucianEllen

Word Count:

Type: Crossover Canon AU (Boktai: uhm…oo; /Lunar Knights: just after Margrave Rymer)

Rating: T (for violence, blood, language, and other stuff related to vampire slaying)

Disclaimer: I don't own Boktai or Lunar Knights. They belong to Konami.

Summary: "Name's Aaron. Pleased to meet you," he quipped cheerfully, and put on his trademark grin. The other boy paused, appearing hesitant at first... but in the end he took the offered hand in his own, smiling as well, and replied: "I'm… Django." XoverCanonAU

A/N Thanks for bearing with me, everyone!

* * *

Chapter 4

Come Along

"You… you're…?" Sabata stuttered, afraid to ask— or afraid to know? He continued to stare at the woman across the room from him, eyes taking in the similarities… oh, but she was too similar! What in the world was going on…?! He shivered, the stress of the confused mental process causing his head to spin distractingly. A bandaged hand reached up to cradle his temple against the cool skin of his palm. The headache subsided only a fraction.

The woman inclined her head. "Are you alright?" she asked, in monotone. When the boy didn't answer, she stepped toward him. "Sir…?"

He stumbled back, away from her. _Bl…blue skin?_ Glowering at the maid, he asked sharply, "Who are you?" Another step backward. "What… what do you want with me?"

"Nothing," came the reply— in the same halting tone of voice. "You were found on the outer wall of the Mansion…" Sabata shuddered at the sound. Heart beating erratically, the Dark Boy backed away a few lengths more.

No… This wasn't Carmilla. It couldn't be.

It wasn't.

He turned, and fled into the night.

"Ahh!" Glass flew everywhere, scattering odd rays of moonlight as the fell to the ground. In a flash the bandaged boy was gone, the wind leaking in from the ruined window the only parting sentiment left behind. The maid, stunned momentarily, looked 'round the immediate area but found nothing but broken glass.

Stepping gingerly over the largest pieces, she peeked past the window frame and into the ink of the sky; in a corner of her eye she could make out a lighter patch of the faintest pink. The sun, she realized. The sun was coming up. Dawn was about to break.

Night was at its end.

* * *

Despite Django's best efforts to cheer up Aaron as they very bravely fled the scene, the younger gunslinger remained very much depressed. Django empathized with him; who wouldn't feel bad about leaving a teammate out in the danger zone when you could be there with him? But in the end, they needed to focus on their primary situation: getting everyone out of harm's way.

Together, with Toasty hovering over them like some sort of misshapen guardian fairy, they scoured the safe end of the network of streets for hideaways. It seemed to Django that Aaron perked up just a little more with every gunslinger they found, so in the end the Solar Boy made it his temporary ambition to make sure all the people got out safe— for Aaron's sake, if not simply their own.

"Thanks!" one of the guildswomen called as she ran toward the appointed escape route, and Aaron waved as she left. Django allowed himself a tiny smile at that. Mission success, he thought, hoping that Aaron would feel a little better by the end of the day. He was sure that Toasty wished the same thing for the boy.

Aaron glanced around. "Is that everyone?" he asked, thinking hard. "I think we've covered every possible area."

"That's good," Django nodded. Glancing around at the empty streets and road, he suggested, "We'd better start back, then. Everyone should be leaving through the evac route now."

"Right."

The two boys and the embodiment of the sun retreated the way they had come. Really, there was no need to run; but they did anyhow. Running gave one a sense of purpose. It gave a feeling of accomplishment: of effortful and meaningful achievement where effort wasn't necessary. They jogged in tandem, boots thudding systematically against rubble-strewn pavement.

"Hey… Django?"

"Huh?" Django started, not expecting the other boy to speak. He was impressed with his endurance; it wasn't easy to talk at a pace like the one they were keeping up now.

Aaron seemed to struggle for words. "Well, I don't mean to pry…" _Since you seem to have your fair share of secrets… _"But, where are you from?"

The blonde thought about how he should answer this. "Er…" If he was right, then he'd come from the past. The _past_. At least a hundred years, in fact. It sounded crazy even as he thought it to himself. The problem was, would Aaron buy it?

He speculated that even if Aaron did, Toasty wouldn't.

"I… don't know," he replied. Well, it was half the truth, at least. "I'm not even sure how I got here, actually…"

Aaron frowned. "Oh. Okay," he said, appearing unsatisfied with the answer but accepting it all the same. Toasty hovered just over his left ear, looking curiously at the two of them. Aaron sighed. "Sorry about that, I just get really curious sometimes." They turned a corner.

"Oh, no, it's no problem," Django assured him quickly. "I—"

"KYAAAAAAAA!"

Both boys nearly tripped over their own feet at the sudden, piercing sound. Sharing a glance, they took off without a word.

"What's going on?!" Aaron yelled over the ruckus, skidding to a stop in order to look wildly around for the source of the commotion. Django stopped just beside him, eyes taking in the scene with bated breath.

The guild members huddled in a far end of the main street designated for evacuation, looking fearfully at the monstrosity that leered at them from the center of the street. As it advanced on the group, to the fearful cries of several of the people, it stepped out of the shadows and the two Solar Boys were able to see its full form.

They shared a collective gasp. The chimera, a hissing, spitting thing with a lion's mane and a snake's head for a tail, snarled menacingly at its soon-to-be victims. The waning light of the sun shone off its enormous fangs and claws and snake scales, giving it an almost dazzling glow; its looks, however, wasn't enough to distract the people from its obvious threat.

The Lion-snake roared, and the members cowered in their corner. They were trapped, and the chimera knew it. The snake tail swished back and forth in anticipation.

Before it could pounce, however, it was assaulted by a spray of bullets against its left flank.

"Back off!" Aaron spat at the beast, running a wide distance away from the snake's tail before unleashing another round at the monster. Growling, the chimera turned to hiss at the new annoyance. Aaron gulped.

Django took this chance to hit the distracted chimera with his own arsenal. "Take this!" he taunted, and the bullets took a direct hit on the lion end.

Roaring viciously, the beast spun a full 360, tail whipping out to catch Django smack in the ribs. The boy went flying into a cement wall, actually quite near the group of escapees; a few of them actually rushed to his side. Then the chimera charged, jaw open, teeth gleaming dangerously. He leapt toward Django's prone form, ready to tear the boy to shreds—

—only to be blown to the side by Aaron's bullets. The brunette kept up his attack until the chimera was forced to back away from both the group and the winded boy.

"Django!" Aaron gasped, reaching the boy's side. He grasped an arm in order to help him up. "Are you alright?" he asked concernedly, and Django nodded, reaching into a pocket to retrieve a slightly crushed fruit. Aaron nodded and left him in a seated position, the other guild members looking worriedly from one boy to the other.

The beast, annoyed to no end, snarled at the brunette. Aaron glowered back. "You're _not_ gonna get in our way," he growled, reloading his guns with a sharp motion of his hands. "I can't let anyone else get hurt!" The Sol Gun pair Knight whirred to life, charging with the sun's power…

"Aaron!" Toasty yelled, appearing at this side in a dazzle of sunlight. "I'll lend my power to your weapon. You'll be able to attack using the element of the sun!" In another flash of light, the sunflower disappeared into the Knights.

Battle cry escaping his lungs, Aaron opened fire upon the chimera. It roared, a furious, bone-chilling cry; then it charged. The two clashed in a fury of blows and bullets.

Django watched from his place on the sidelines, irked that he'd been taken out so early on. Both his gut and his backside smarted with pain. He'd made an elementary mistake… He wouldn't make the same mistake again; that, he promised himself. For now, he would have to stay put, but he'd be back on his feet soon enough. He could feel the effects of the fruit he'd eaten, its properties healing him from the inside out. All the while, his eyes traced the movement of the battlers before him.

"Good luck, Aaron," he muttered. "I'll be right there in a moment…"

It was hard to talk with a broken rib.

* * *

Lucian didn't bother jumping over the Mansion's vast gates this time. Instead, he parked the Laplace within the perimeter, wondering why he hadn't done so before. It made things so much easier.

The maid was a little more willing to let him through this time around, he noted absently as he walked past. Walking purposefully toward the lab with Nero trailing dutifully behind him, he opened the double doors to find Sheridan snoring in a chair. His sword lay cleaned and shined on an examination table beside the sleeping alchemist.

Snorting his amusement, Lucian stepped over the varying lab equipment and papers strewn across the floor to reclaim his weapon.

The hilt seemed as if to spring toward his hand. Gripping the blade for what seemed like the first time in an eternity, Lucian gave it a look-over before returning it to its sheath. Looking dispassionately at the man not two yards away, the teen glanced around the room. Nothing much had changed.

After the second look about a halfway concealed computer screen caught his eye. Its screen sported an endlessly rotating 3D image of Vanargand, with a myriad of notes and data compiled in an index on the right side. Lucian skimmed over this data, looking uninterested for the most part. Composition, matter and density, etc. etc… Suddenly, Lucian focused the whole of his attention at the screen.

A gloved hand reached for the mouse, and the teen clicked on a few links, eyes sharp on the computer monitor.

"Mrow?" asked Nero, glancing over his shoulder. "What is it, Lucian?"

From the screen, which was now split into three, two new 3D models had taken residence beside Vanargand.

JORMUNGANDR

Dark Lance: "A lance comprised of dark matter and named after the beast of earth."

HEL

Dark Scythe: "A scythe comprised of dark matter and named after the queen of darkness."

Nero almost sighed. If Lucian ever had a weakness, it was for pointy, dangerous things made of darkness. No doubt he would want to go searching for these new weapons as soon as they got out of the Mansion…

"I see you've taken an interest to the second and third weapons of darkness," Sheridan spoke up, rubbing a tired eye.

Lucian looked at him sharply. "There were other dark weapons?"

"Well, yes," Sheridan admitted frankly. "But they're less known than Vanargand; their existence is constantly jumping the line from myth to reality. No one knows if they really were created, or if people just made them up for the sake of having a better story. Ah," he started, remembering something. "About Vanargand, Lucian…" Lucian perked at the name of his sword.

"I believe I can somewhat… 'upgrade' your weapon's power," Sheridan informed the boy with a weak smile. "If you can bring me the materials, that is. I'm sure that won't be a problem; they can be found on most monsters."

Lucian thought this over for a moment, then nodded. "Whatever's necessary," he concluded.

"Ah, by the way, good sir…" Nero interrupted, alighting on Lucian's shoulder. "We were wondering if you had any information about Casket Armor."

The man paled considerably at the words; Lucian looked at him suspiciously. Sheridan remained silent for a time, massaging his temple with a trembling hand. His eyes stared blankly at the floor. "Ah, the Casket Armor," he murmured, looking stricken. "I knew that would come back to haunt me someday… Ah… it seems that day has come." He looked up at the two waiting for his reply.

"I know," said Sheridan gravely, but hesitantly, "a great deal about casket armor. How much do you need to know…?"

Lucian's mouth set in a grim line. "Much."

The older man nodded. "Alright. I'll tell you what you need to know." He turned away to gather some of his things, for some mundane purpose, then paused. "Lucian…"

"What?"

"Ah… no, never mind," Sheridan thought better of it and left the thought hanging, to Lucian's annoyance. The red-eyed man looked calculatingly at the papers he held in his hands now, wondering— if, by some odd chance— that the strange, violet-haired boy that had broken out of the mansion earlier could be related to the Dark Swordsman.

It was most likely poppycock; just his old mind coming up with wild theories.

…but still, he wondered.

* * *

Sabata crept through the shadows of the forest, shunning the light. The sun had come up far too early for his tastes.

Thankfully the bandages he'd gained from the Maid girl hadn't torn off, which gave him a slight barrier against the direct sunlight. But his clothes… he'd left the majority of them back there. With her.

He shivered, involuntarily. That girl… she couldn't have been Carmilla. Such lifelessness… It was both frightening and disturbing to see someone so alike, yet feeling completely different. The Dark Boy paused to rest against a large oak, leaning against its bark to support himself.

Damn… Where was he?

Where was Django?

What kind of world was this…?

The wind shifted, and his bangs blew across his face, tickling his cheeks. He sighed, and slid down the length of the tree's trunk to settle in a tired mound of boy at its base.

So tired, so tired…

His eyelids drooped, but he thrust away the drowsiness that threatened to douse the flame of his consciousness. He wouldn't fall here; that just wouldn't do. What would Django say to him? Haha…

What a foolish boy. Can't even find his little brother…

Burns into a crisp in the sun…

Couldn't save he—

Sabata growled and forced the thought today. No, not now. Now was time for focus. Not time for reminiscence. That could wait.

Pulling himself up from his seat, he darted to another tree's side, timing with the wind so that the shadows fell in his favor. He was so weak right now. As he trudged along, he knew that he wouldn't be able to compensate fully what damage had been done to him with just moonlight.

He needed _energy_.


End file.
